Cy Young

Cy Young left a legacy as a pitcher that is unlikely to ever be matched.

The right-hander won 511 games during his tenure in baseball, almost 100 more than any other pitcher in history. He recorded 30 victories on five occasions and won more than 20 games 15 times.

Young’s best season came in 1901 when he led in strikeouts, wins and ERA. It was the first year of the American League and he set the bar high, winning its Triple Crown.

In 1903 he won two games in the first modern World Series, helping Boston to victory.

On May 5, 1904, Young pitched the first perfect game of the 20th century, a day he considered to be his greatest in baseball.

The pitcher totalled three no-hitters throughout his time in the sport. He still holds the records for most career innings pitched with 7,356, games started with 815 and complete games with 749. He is the fourth all-time with 76 career shutouts.

Young threw his first no-hitter was on Sept. 18, 1897. He did not walk a batter, but his team committed four errors. One was originally ruled a hit, but Cleveland’s third baseman sent a note to the press box after the eighth inning indicating that he had actually made an error, so the ruling on the field was changed. Young considered the game to be a one-hitter, despite a valiant effort from his teammate.

In 1908 he pitched his third no-hitter and was the oldest man to ever accomplish the feat, at 41 years and three months old. His record lasted 82 years until Nolan Ryan threw a no-no in 1991 at the age of 44.

Young led his league in victories on five occasions, in 1892, 1895, and from 1901 to 1903, and finished second two more times. In 1892 he reached a career-high in wins with 36. He led the league in ERA twice with a 1.93 in 1892 and a 1.62 in 1901, and was second three times in the same category.

For 19 straight years, the right-handed pitcher was in the top 10 in the AL for number of innings pitched. In 14 of those seasons he was among the top five finishers. Young did not throw two consecutive incomplete games until he was already 10 years into his baseball career.

Young also holds the record for the most victories by a player at age 34 (33), 35 (32), 36 (28), 37 (26), 40 (21) and 41 (21).

He left the game at the age of 45 with a reputation for continued greatness over his tenure that has yet to be matched in the history of baseball. Each year the top pitcher from both leagues is awarded in his honor.

From the collection

Baseball used for the first four innings in Game One of the first modern World Series, 1903. Cy Young started for Boston and threw the first pitch - B-41-41 (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Baseball pitched by Cleveland's 43-year-old Cy Young on July 19, 1910, when he earned his 500th victory. He went all 11 innings to beat Washington 5-2 - B-83-37 (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)